< 1 Kings 7 >

1 Solomon was thirteen years building a house for himself till it was complete.
However, it took Solomon thirteen years to finish building the whole of his palace.
2 And he made the house of the Woods of Lebanon, which was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high, resting on four lines of cedar-wood pillars with cedar-wood supports on the pillars.
He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon— a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. There were four rows of cedar pillars that supported cedar beams.
3 And it was covered with cedar over the forty-five supports which were on the pillars, fifteen in a line.
The cedar roof of the house was on top of the beams that rested on the pillars. There were forty-five beams, fifteen in each row.
4 There were three lines of window-frames, window facing window in every line.
The windows were placed high up, in three rows facing each other.
5 And all the doors and windows had square frames, with the windows facing one another in three lines.
All the doorways and door casings had rectangular frames, the openings facing each other in sets of three.
6 And he made a covered room of pillars, fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, and ... with steps before it.
He also had the Hall of Columns made—forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. It had a porch in front, its canopy also supported by columns.
7 Then he made a covered room for his high seat when he gave decisions; this was the covered room of judging; it was covered with cedar-wood from floor to roof.
The throne room where he sat as judge was called the Hall of Justice, lined with cedar panels from floor to ceiling.
8 And the house for his living-place, the other open square in the covered room, was made in the same way. And then he made a house like it for Pharaoh's daughter, whom Solomon had taken as his wife.
Solomon's own palace where he lived was in a courtyard behind the porch, made in a similar way to the Temple. He also had a palace made for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he'd married.
9 All these buildings were made, inside and out, from base to crowning stone, and outside to the great walled square, of highly priced stone, cut to different sizes with cutting-instruments.
All these buildings were built using stone blocks that were expensive to produce. They were cut to size and trimmed with saws on the inside and outside. These stones were used from the foundation to the eaves, from the outside of the building all the way to the great courtyard.
10 And the base was of great masses of highly priced stone, some ten cubits and some eight cubits square.
The foundations were laid with very large top-quality stones, between eight and ten cubits long.
11 Overhead were highly priced stones cut to measure, and cedar-wood.
On these were placed top-quality stones, cut to size, along with cedar timber.
12 The great outer square all round was walled with three lines of squared stones and a line of cedar-wood boards, round about the open square inside the house of the Lord and the covered room of the king's house.
Around the great courtyard, the inner courtyard, and the porch of the Lord's Temple were three courses of dressed stone and a course of cedar beams.
13 Then King Solomon sent and got Hiram from Tyre.
King Solomon sent for Hiram from Tyre.
14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; he was full of wisdom and knowledge and an expert worker in brass. He came to King Solomon and did all his work for him.
He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was from Tyre, a craftsman who worked in bronze. Hiram had great expertise, understanding and being familiar with all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and carried out all that the king required.
15 He it was who made the two brass pillars; the first pillar was eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits went round it; and the second was the same.
He cast two columns in bronze. They were both eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.
16 And he made the two crowns to be put on the tops of the pillars, of brass made soft in the fire; the crowns were five cubits high.
He also cast two capitals in bronze to place on top of the columns. Each capital was five cubits high.
17 There were nets of open-work for the crowns on the tops of the pillars, a net of open-work for one and a net of open-work for the other.
He made a network of lattice of interlinked chains for both capitals, seven for each one.
18 And he made ornaments of apples; and two lines of apples all round over the network, covering the crowns of the pillars, the two crowns in the same way.
Around the lattice network he made two rows of ornamental pomegranates to cover the capitals on the top of both the columns.
19 The crowns on the tops of the pillars were ornamented with a design of flowers, and were four cubits across.
The capitals placed on top of columns in the porch were in the shape of lilies, four cubits high.
20 And there were crowns on the two pillars near the round part by the network, and there were two hundred apples in lines round every crown.
On the capitals of both columns were the two hundred pomegranates in rows that encircled them, just above the rounded part that was next to the chain network.
21 He put up the pillars at the doorway of the Temple, naming the one on the right Jachin, and that on the left Boaz.
He erected the columns at the entrance porch of the Temple. The southern column he named Jachin, and the northern column he named Boaz.
22 The tops of the pillars had a design of flowers; and the work of making the pillars was complete.
The capitals on the columns were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the columns was finished.
23 And he made a great metal water-vessel ten cubits across from edge to edge, five cubits high and thirty cubits round.
Then he made the Sea of cast metal. Its shape was circular, and measured ten cubits from edge to edge, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference.
24 And under the edge of it, circling it all round for ten cubits, were two lines of flower buds, made together with it from liquid metal.
Below the edge it was decorated with ornamental gourds that encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around. They were in two rows cast as one piece with the Sea.
25 It was supported on twelve oxen, with their back parts turned to the middle of it, three of them facing to the north, three to the west, three to the south, and three to the east; the vessel was resting on top of them.
The Sea stood on twelve metal bulls. Three faced to the north, three to the west, three to the south, and three to the east. The Sea was placed on them, with their rears toward the center.
26 It was as thick as a man's open hand, and was curved like the edge of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it would take two thousand baths.
It was as thick as the width of a hand, and its edge was like the flared edge of a cup or a lily flower. It held two thousand baths.
27 And he made ten wheeled bases of brass; every one four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
He also made ten carts to carry basins. The carts measured four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
28 And the bases were made in this way; their sides were square, fixed in a framework;
This is how they were put together: side panels were attached to uprights.
29 And on the square sides between the frames were lions, oxen, and winged ones; and the same on the frame; and over and under the lions and the oxen and the winged ones were steps.
Both the side panels and the uprights were decorated with lions, bulls, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and the bulls were decorative wreaths.
30 Every base had four wheels of brass, turning on brass rods, and their four angles had angle-plates under them; the angle-plates under the base were of metal, and there were ornaments at the side of every one.
Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. A basin rested on four supports that had decorative wreaths on each side.
31 The mouth of it inside the angle-plate was one cubit across; it was round like a pillar, a cubit and a half across; it had designs cut on it; the sides were square, not round.
At the top of each cart was a round opening like a pedestal to hold the basin. The opening was one cubit deep, and one and a half cubits wide. The opening had carvings around it. The panels of the cart were square, not round.
32 The four wheels were under the frames, and the rods on which the wheels were fixed were in the base; the wheels were a cubit and a half high.
The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the cart. Each wheel measured one and a half cubits in diameter.
33 The wheels were made like carriage-wheels, the rods on which they were fixed, the parts forming their edges, their rods and the middle points of them, were all formed out of liquid metal.
The wheels were made in the same way as chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all made by casting.
34 And there were four angle-plates at the four angles of every base, forming part of the structure of the base.
Each cart had four handles, one on each corner, made as part of the stand.
35 And at the top of the base there was a round vessel, half a cubit high;
There was a ring on the top of the cart a half cubit wide. The supports and panels were cast as one piece with the top of the cart.
36 In the spaces of the flat sides and on the frames of them, he made designs of winged ones, lions, and palm-trees, with ornamented edges all round.
He had designs of cherubim, lions, and palm trees engraved on the panels, supports, and frame, wherever there was space, with decorative wreaths all around.
37 All the ten bases were made in this way, after the same design, of the same size and form.
This is how he made the ten carts, with the same casts, size, and shape.
38 And he made ten brass washing-vessels, everyone taking forty baths, and measuring four cubits; one vessel was placed on every one of the ten bases.
Then he made ten bronze basins. Each one held forty baths and measured four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten carts.
39 And he put the bases by the house, five on the right side and five on the left; and he put the great water-vessel on the right side of the house, to the east, facing south.
He placed five carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. He placed the Sea on the south side, by the southeast corner of the Temple.
40 And Hiram made the pots and spades and the basins. So Hiram came to the end of all the work he did for King Solomon in the house of the Lord:
He also made the pots, shovels, and bowls. So Hiram finished making everything required by King Solomon for the Temple of the Lord:
41 The two pillars and the two cups of the crowns which were on the tops of the two pillars; and the network covering the two cups of the crowns on the tops of the pillars,
the two columns; the two capitals shaped like bowls on top the columns; the two chain networks that covered the bowls of the capitals on top of the columns;
42 And the four hundred apples for the network, two lines of apples for every network, covering the two cups of the crowns on the pillars;
the four hundred ornamental pomegranates for the chain networks (in two rows for the chain networks that covered the capitals on top of the columns);
43 And the ten bases, with the ten washing-vessels on them;
the ten carts; the ten basins on the carts;
44 And the great water-vessel, with the twelve oxen under it;
the Sea; the twelve bulls under the Sea;
45 And the pots and the spades and the basins; all the vessels which Hiram made for King Solomon, for the house of the Lord, were of polished brass.
and the pots, shovels, and bowls. Everything that Hiram made for King Solomon in the Temple of the Lord was made of polished bronze.
46 He made them of liquid metal in the lowland of Jordan, at the way across the river, at Adama, between Succoth and Zarethan.
The king had them cast in molds made of clay in the Jordan valley between Succoth and Zarethan.
47 The weight of all these vessels was not measured, because there was such a number of them; it was not possible to get the weight of the brass.
Solomon did not weigh anything that had been made because there was just so much—the weight of bronze used could not be measured.
48 And Solomon had all the vessels made for use in the house of the Lord: the altar of gold and the gold table on which the holy bread was placed;
Solomon also had made all the items for the Temple of the Lord: the golden altar; the golden table where the Bread of the Presence was placed;
49 And the supports for the lights, five on the right side and five on the left before the inmost room, of clear gold; and the flowers and the lights and all the instruments of gold;
the lampstands made of pure gold that stood in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left; the flowers, lamps, and tongs that were all made of pure gold;
50 And the cups and the scissors and the basins and the spoons and the fire-trays, all of gold; and the pins on which the doors were turned, the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and the doors of the Temple, all of gold.
the basins, wick trimmers, bowls, ladles, and censers that again were all made of pure gold; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place, in addition to the doors of the main hall of the Temple.
51 So all the work King Solomon had done in the house of the Lord was complete. Then Solomon took the holy things which David his father had given, the silver and the gold and all the vessels, and put them in the store-houses of the house of the Lord.
In this way all King Solomon's work for the Temple of the Lord was completed. Then Solomon brought in the items his father David had dedicated, the special objects made of silver, the gold, and the Temple furnishings, and he placed them in the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord.

< 1 Kings 7 >